Wandering
by carswellsjacket
Summary: After Cinder's coronation, the Rampion Crew takes a few weeks of vacation in the palace of Artemisia. This is telling the story from Thorne's POV via a series of videos.
1. Chapter 1

"Hello, and welcome to 'Wandering' a series of videos done by me, everyone's favorite Captain." Thorne waved his casted hand at the portscreen in his other hand before continuing. "These videos will be showing an almost minute by minute view into my stay here on the floating rock that I just helped Cinder conquer, along with cameos from the other members of my crew."

He raised the port slightly, double checking his reflection in the newly-installed mirror adjacent to him. "I hope you all are getting my good side, or in other words, my entire face. Now, since this is the first entry, I will be introducing the other, if ever unwilling, members of my crew, starting with myself." He exited the lavish bathroom, walking into his new suite. Thorne did a spin, showing off his room.

"This is my suite. Yes, I know, Lunars are endlessly extravagant, but I'm not complaining." He faced the camera once again. "If you haven't guessed by now, I am Captain Carswell Thorne, but you viewers can just call me handsome." He brushed a lock of hair out of his face and strutted out of the room.

Walking along the hallway, a few servants giggled at him holding a port in his hand and talking to, but he ignored them. "You must be wondering how I acquired this lovely cast." He twisted his injured arm in front of the screen. "Well, long story short, my fingers were shot off and," Thorne looked down, pain flashing across his face "...it was well deserved." He glanced at the arm but recovered quickly, giving the screen a dashing smile.

Turning into the luxurious hall that held the Queen's quarters, he slowed down, putting a finger to his lips dramatically. A dark-haired guard eyed him carefully,and as he approached the door, took a defensive stance.

"Do you have the clearance to come in here?" the guard asked.

"What exactly would qualify as clearance?" Thorne drawled, leaning back on his heels.

The guard was about to answer when a sound came from behind Cinder's door. Both men turned their attention to the door and a head popped out of the now slightly ajar door.

"Hello Captain, I thought I had heard you out here. Is he giving you trouble?" Iko asked, casting a casual glare at the guard. "Kinney, he is Cinder's friend and should therefore have automatic clearance."

The guard, Kinney, squinted his eyes at Thorne again. "I've seen him with Her Majesty before. I just wasn't sure…"

"Well now you are. Glad we got that cleared up, wouldn't want you confused." She gave a tight-lipped smile to him and turned back toward Thorne. "He won't bother you anymore, come in."

Iko went inside and Thorne noticed Kinney's eyes follow her until she was out of sight. He caught Thorne's eye and immediately looked forward, the exact same way he had originally seen him. But his face had tinted a smooth pink.

Thorne smirked and entered the room, where Iko was standing in front of a large mirror wearing a shimmery, golden gown.

"Well someone's all dolled up." he mused.

Iko grinned before turning back to the mirror. "And with nowhere to go. It's been forever since I've seen a mirror and and thank the stars that Cinder got them installed as soon as possible." From what Thorne could see, her eyes were a deep blue with pride.

"This is Iko, the best android you will ever meet and frankly, one of the best conversationalists. Don't be fooled by her robotic beginnings, she is more human than some of the people I've met." Thorne addressed the recording and walked forward.

Iko tilted her head at him in confusion. "Why are you recording me, I mean, not that I have an issue with it." She struck a pose. "The world should see this amazing face, but, it's still a little weird."

Thorne laughed, "You've been spending too much time around me."

She shrugged, tossing her hair to one side.

"By the way, have you seen the Metal-Armed Wonder anywhere?" he asked.

"Cinder? She left an hour ago. She's either hiding in Kai's room, the spaceship harbor, or in another meeting." She said absentmindedly, smoothing out imaginary ruffles in the skirt.

"Well then, my stay here is overdue, see you around." Thorne said before making his exit, once again passing the stone-faced guard and by this time, the blush had seceded. "Seems we're going to have to widen our search for Cinder. But first, let's see who else we can find first."

He sped down the halls, the falsified noon sun glinting off of every shiny surface. Re-adjusting his new leather jacket around the collar, he headed toward the guest rooms he had started in.

"Another long walk along the endless halls of Artemisia." Thorne mumbled, not directly addressing the camera but implying his discomfort. Not being the biggest fan of over exerting himself and _definitely_ not appreciating the many–and unspoken–times he had gotten lost among the pillars of an unearthly marble.

Arriving at the suites, Thorne resumed his narration and flipped the port forward, walking toward the first room on his left. "I'm pretty sure that this is Scarlet and Wolf's room." He knocked once, to feign politeness, but pushed the door open moments later.

He walked into an empty room, but decided to continue his venture. "Where is everyone?" Looking around he spotted a bright red hoodie laying on the grandiose bed. Thorne lifted an eyebrow at the close to ruined thing. However, he didn't hesitate to pick it up and display it to the screen.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Could it be the infamous red hoodie of Scarlet Benoit? She never takes this thing off. Maybe it gives her super sarcasm powers." He felt the material between his fingers.

Thorne eyed the jacket playfully and placed the portscreen on a coffee table, propping it up against a vase. He slowly put on the hoodie and snuggled into it.

"Aces, no wonder she wears it all the time; this is the most comfortable thing I've ever worn. Even after going through a revolution." He uttered, his complete attention on the jacket.

"Thorne!" a shocked voice called. Thorne's head whipped to the source of the voice to see Scarlet standing at the doorway, eyes aflame.

"Exactly who I was looking for!" He focused the camera on her. "This is Scarlet Benoit, another member of my crew and one of the best pilots you will ever meet; after me of course." Thorne glanced over the screen at Scarlet herself, who practically had smoke coming out of her ears. "And no, her hair is not on fire, that's just her natural color." He raised one eyebrow, practically challenging her to make a comeback.

She stood there, fists clenched–a finger rubbing over the stub of her pinkie–and teeth bared. "I'll give you five seconds to take it off or else I'll pull it off your corpse." To Thorne's surprise, she said that statement in an extraordinarily calm fashion, as if she did this everyday. Her calm was soon discarded when she started counting.

"You know, I was going to ask if I could borrow it, just for a couple days." A ferocious glare greeted his suggestion. "An hour?"

Her furious expression told Thorne all he needed to know. He grabbed the port and bolted to the door, speeding by her, but she followed quickly, catching up to him easily. Thorne was still videoing and held up the portscreen to show him running and her gaining on him.

"As you can see, Scarlet has a bit of a temper. But underneath all of that apparent hatred for the world, is a loving soul. And an even deeper hatred for me." he almost shouted, despite however winded he was.

At this time, he was much farther from the guest suites than intended and was beginning to run out of stamina. But Scarlet, driven by rage and determination, kept a steady pace. Thorne saw no way out of this one. He was starting to consider giving up.

But right as he was about to stop running and receive his well earned slap on the face, he smacked into what felt like a hard wall. He looked up to see Wolf, smiled, and quickly darted behind him. "Hide me." he whispered.

"Wha–" Wolf started, but was cut off by a shout from Scarlet. Thorne poked his head out from the side and watched their conversation. He brought up his port as far as he could without detection and continued his narration.

"This is Wolf, a former soldier for the Queen but now boyfriend to Scarlet. He's a no nonsense kinda guy. But with a heart the size of Jupiter, and the strength of, well, a wolf." he whispered, clutching a part of the jacket.

Suddenly, Scarlet looked his way. Uh oh. He was dead.

She nudged Wolf to the side and narrowed her eyes at Thorne. Her glare had the heat of a volcano on the verge of eruption. If looks could kill, half of Artemisia would have been vaporized. In seconds.

Thorne held his hands up in surrender, wincing from the thought of what she would do to him. There would be a lot of shouting. Mostly from Scarlet. His would be shouts of mercy.

She immediately lunged at him and let out a warcry, knocking him over. She wrestled the jacket off of him, almost dislocating his arm with the force that she used to pull them out of the sleeves. Once it was off, Scarlet twisted his good arm behind his back and pulled him off the ground. "Don't ever try that again, or next time it will be your _head._ " she hissed and socked him on the nose. She then pushed him back down and cradled the almost tattered thing cautiously. Walking over to Wolf, she kissed him on the cheek and threw a glare a Thorne one last time before walking away.

Thorne groaned and slowly got up, he touched his nose to see if it was bleeding. Dry. But it stung with a vengeance. It was worth a try. He reached for the dropped port and was surprised to see it was still recording. "Word of advice: don't touch Scarlet's jacket if you value your life." he croaked.

Wolf looked at Thorne, a smirk on his lips with a touch of pity. "Not your smartest idea."

Thorne laughed with pain laced in his voice. "I can see that." He focused the camera on Wolf, this time getting a full shot. "Once again, my friend Wolf. Stoic but well-meaning and his girlfriend, Scarlet. Tough as nails and will beat up anything that challenges her."

Wolf raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at his lips, and went after Scarlet.

Thorne looked around and he (shockingly) recognized the part of the grand palace he was in. To confirm his suspicions, he saw a tall, blond man standing in front of a doorway with a painfully smug smile on his face.

Thorne angled the portscreen to video the man, still gingerly touching his nose. "What's new with you, Jacin?"

"Nope, I get to ask first." Jacin replied, arms crossed.

"You saw that?" Thorne asked, trying to feign nonchalance.

"Yep, and you got way in over your head. And honestly, you had that coming." Jacin deadpanned.

Thorne touched his nose again and winced. He would not be touching that jacket anytime soon.

Jacin raised an eyebrow at him, in either pity or disappointment. "You should get some ice on that."

Thorne ignored him. "Jacin, say 'hi' to the camera. This is Jacin, the walking icicle and master of absolute indifference. He could make a snowman shiver. And, although not an official member of my crew, he's a friend."

"I would _hardly_ consider you a friend" Jacin responded bitterly, giving him an _I-have-no-time-for-your-idiocy_ look.

"Whatever, I'm just saying, you really are warming up to me." Thorne said slyly. He inched past him and knocked on the door behind Jacin, positioning the portscreen accordingly.

Jacin held out his arm to block Thorne's entrance. "What business do you have with the ambassador?" he asked accusingly.

" _She_ is an honorary member of my crew and therefore deserves attention from the camera." Thorne argued, pointing to the port in his hand and knocked once more.

The door opened to a swooningly beautiful young lady in a purple summer dress right above the knees with a white cardigan. "Hello Thorne. How are you doing this fine afternoon?" she said sweetly.

"Just here to see your smiling face." he smiled, bowing dramatically. "Ambassador Winter, a former princess who has the beauty of a thousand stars and the sanity of a second era cuckoo clock. And Jacin may or may not have a thing for her." Thorne winked at Jacin and received a scowl in return.

WInter waved to the camera before exiting her room completely and into the hallway. "Jacin, are we still going to the market?"

Jacin's bitter expression quickly dissolved to a slight, but meaningful smile. "I was just waiting for you." he responded, giving her his arm. "Shall we?"

Winter giggled before taking his arm.

"MInd if I join you?" Thorne asked, stepping along beside them.

Jacin sucked in a breath loudly, but Winter scrunched her lips at his reaction.

"Or I'll just walk you down the hall." Thorne recovered, not missing a beat.

They began to walk. "It's nice to be able to go into town without the eminent fear of Levana watching." Winter said, unknowingly breaking an awkward silence, though the entire group agreed.

"Which is why we'd like to enjoy that. Without an idiot making side comments." Jacin said coldly and Winter hit him on the arm.

"It's okay, I know where I'm unwanted." Thorne raised his arms in surrender and stopped walking.

"Goodbye Thorne, I hope your arm heals quickly. But that cast is still nice." she said, her voice like a dozen silver bells ringing.

As the pair ambled away, Thorne followed them with the screen. "Correction: they have a thing for each other. Ice and Sunshine. Who would've thought?"

He walked in the other direction, now trying to find his way back to the guest suites.

"If I make a...right, here, that will take me to…"

Thorne stopped his aimless ambling to take a moment and look around. The gigantic hallway never seemed to end and he was beginning to get dizzy from it all. His pride had prevented him from asking the servants for directions. Up until now.

"Hey." he called to someone in a green uniform pushing a cart of something. "Do you know the way to the guest quarters?"

The servant turned toward him and cocked his head to the side. "Are you lost, sir?"

"Not _lost_ , I just…" Thorne trailed off and gave him a desperate look.

The man pursed his lips, wanting to say something but not entirely ready to insult him. "I'll escort you there."

"Nope, I'll be fine. Thanks, but no thanks. Just point me in the right direction, please." Thorne said awkwardly.

"Oh, okay. Take a right at the next hallway and keep going down until you reach Her Majesty's quarters. Then take a left and keep heading straight." he directed.

"Alright, thanks again." Thorne said lightly, starting in the direction where the servant pointed. As soon as the man was out of earshot, he continued recording the previously paused port and focused the screen on himself.

"He probably thought I was crazy. But I wasn't lost. I wasn't. I had just...lost my sense of direction for a moment. Or two." Thorne grumbled.

As soon as he got into an area he recognized, his feet moved on its own accord–as he was distracted with figuring out how he could have found his way back without asking for help–until he found himself at a familiar door.

Thorne smiled and turned to the portscreen. "Well, here's another one of my crew. But I've been look forward to seeing her all day." He winked into the camera before flipping the focus and knocked.

"Coming!" a muffled voice called.

The door opened Cress on her hover chair in a simple blue dress. As soon as she opened the door, a smile burst through her features.

"Captain," she started, a welcoming aura about her. Her eyes soon trailed down to the portscreen and understanding flashed across her face. "You're...recording me?"

Thorne shrugged and gave her a quick peck on the cheek as she let him in. "Hello to you too, Cress."

He pointing the camera on her again. "This is my wonderful girlfriend, Cress. A stellar hacker who used to be a little more timid than the strong woman you see today. Don't mess with her or your net life will be destroyed. She is a valuable member of my crew and my heart."

Cress flushed before rolling her eyes. "Ever one for the dramatics."

"Look who's talking, and you know it's true." he remarked, moving closer so as to twirl her hair between his–remaining–fingers on the casted hand.

"So, what exactly are you doing here?" Cress asked.

"I can't visit my girlfriend just to say hello anymore?" Thorne said, faking a hurt expression.

"While videoing her?" she shot back, eyes narrowing.

He looked up at the ceiling, quickly hiding the port behind his back but leaving it on. "I just…got bored and felt like makingvideosaboutmewanderingaroundartemisia."

Cress blinked, then raised her eyebrows. "Say that again."

Thorne sighed, smiling to himself about how idiotic it sounded out loud. No, not idiotic–since when has he cared about how childish he looked–more how ridiculous the entire day had been.

"I've just been making videos about me...wandering around the palace, just to keep me entertained." He took a breath to regain confidence and brought the portscreen back out. "And today is orientation, just so the nonexistent people that are watching this will know who is who."

That wasn't too bad. Why was he nervous? He was Carswell Thorne, after all. The one person who lacked no confidence...except when it came to Cress.

A laugh bubbled up from her throat and found its way into the once quiet room. Thorne chuckled as well until they were both laughing, the camera still videoing. He saw her hold her stomach and stopped abruptly.

"Try not to laugh too much, the less pain, the better." he suggested softly, crouching down to meet below her eye-level from where she was seated.

"And will any of us get to watch these videos?"

"Of course, they're about me, why wouldn't we?" he teased.

She squinted at his face, before frowning and reaching for his nose. "Why is your nose a dark, red tint?"

He put a hand over it, flinching immediately, and stood. "I took Scarlet's jacket." he said proudly. "And almost got away with it."

Cress frowned, a hint of disappointment swimming in her blue eyes, but mostly concern. She pulled her chair back, heading for the door. "You really should put some ice on that."

Thorne shook his head. "I'll put some on later. Besides, I still need to find Cinder." He opened the door, planting one last sweet kiss on her lips, but trying to void pressing his nose too close to hers.

"You might want to try Kai's room, she goes there all the time. Says it helps relieve stress." Cress said after they broke away.

"Gotcha. I'll try there next." And he was out the door. He checked the screen and it was still on.

Walking down the hall, to the Emperor's room, Thorne continued to talk. "She has got to be in here, what better a place to hide."

He knocked once, waited. Knocked again. Waited. Growing impatient, he was about to open to door when Kai did it for him.

Kai looked slightly surprised to see him but recovered quickly, smoothing down his plain dress shirt. "Hey, Thorne. What brings you here?"

Thorne's expression remained placid. "Is Cinder in there." He looked around Kai's shoulder into the room but his sight was quickly cut off by the Emperor's head.

"She left an hour ago, why?" he replied.

Thorne sighed. "I see, and no reason in particular." He brought the portscreen to face Kai.

"Yes, this is him. And no, you aren't dreaming. The ever so charming Emperor Kai. Isn't he lovely? A man with more fan pages than I do and honestly, I respect that. He really isn't the biggest fan of the press and so is probably hating what I'm doing now." Thorne got into the camera shot and smiled, leaning against Kai. He instantly pushed him off with the most bewildered look. "What are you doing?"

"Just videoing my favorite Royal. Don't judge." Thorne replied.

"Yeah, but–" Kai was cut off by Thorne shushing him.

"No time to explain." He turned back to the port. "You'll be seeing this one often. Now, do you know where Cinder went?"

"I think she went to the harbor but–"

"Alright, well, see ya!" And Thorne left.

"I still don't know what's going on!" Kai shouted after him.

Thorne entered the harbor, immediately addressing me of the guards who stood watch there.

"Have you seen Cinder?" he asked, a little breathless from running.

"The Queen? She went that way." the guard said, pointing to the right of him.

Thorne nodded and rushed off in that direction, still recording the events.

As he rounded the corner, he saw a flash of metal up ahead and kept going. A familiar grease-smudged, metal ankle attached to a pant leg came into view. "Cinder!"

A girl in overalls and a plain, black t-shirt came out from under a hover with a wrench in hand.

Thorne reached the hover she was working on and stopped to take a breather. "Oh," he began, still a little breathless. "I mean, Your _Majesty_." He bowed deeply, over exaggerating every gesture.

Cinder sat up, looking him in the eye, and crossed her arms. "Don't you start, too." She stood up, dusting off her pants. Or rather, smudging the oil stains into them. "That's all I've been hearing all day."

Thorne stood up straight, smirking, and pointed the portscreen on her. "You've been waiting all day to see her, and it's taken me all day to find her Her Majesty, Queen Selene Channary Jannali Blackburn In her natural habitat and natural state."

"What are you doing?" She asked, irritation dripping from her words.

"Sarcastic and fed up with me just about now, she always has either something inspiring or something salty to say. And she comes with a lifetime supply of oil smudges, everywhere.

Cinder swiped at her face, trying to clear any of the said oil from her face. "Are you videoing me, because I'm really not in the mood."

"Aw, bad day Your Roboticness?" Thorne teased, his face turning into a mocking pout.

"Alright Thorne-in-my-side, what are you doing?" Cinder asked, leaning against the hover.

"None of your business, but you will see me doing this a lot. So better get used to it." He pointed at the portscreen and waggled his eyebrows.

Cinder rolled her eyes up to the ceiling and took a calming breath. "As long as you don't get in my way." She squatted down and picked up a different tool.

Thorne saw her disappear under the hover and he sat down next to her feet. He tried to fixate the port on the bare underside of the hover, but fell on his stomach. So he resorted to putting the view on the visible part Cinder.

"The mechanic picks up the pliers. Is it the right one? Will she be able to fix this? She's starting to look frustrated. And…ladies and gentlemen, she puts the pliers down. I repeat put the pliers down!."

Cinder came out from under the hover again, her eyes small slits and her mouth turned into a snarl. Thorne could practically feel the annoyance radiating off of her. "Thorne…" she warned.

"What's the problem? Wrench got your tongue?" he mused, his face smoothing into a comfortable smile.

"Thorne, I swear to the stars above-"

"And that's all for today's video of 'Wandering.' Tune in next time to see who will punch me first." He smirked at Cinder. "Scarlet beat you to it today."


	2. Chapter 2

Cinder walked down the halls, her boots padded softly against the tile instead of those insufferable heels she had previously been wearing. But after a long morning of walking to almost every corner of the towering palace, she had gotten tired and was ready to get a change of shoes. The silky, blue dress–however–had to stay on, according to Iko. Cinder was starting to realize that Iko had only said that, many times, in order to convince her to actually wear the multitude of extravagant dresses that had been made for her.

Speaking of which, Cinder hadn't seen Iko since lunch and it was unusual that she hadn't come to tell her about the obnoxious behaviour of the Families or how she had finally decided the theme she wanted to redecorate the entire palace to.

As Cinder was contemplating exactly where her friend could have gone, a thought presented itself in the front of her mind. Iko and a specific guard, Kinney. She had seen their interactions and wasn't ecstatic that they didn't get along. Why did he _have_ to tease her, she would win every argument they had. And why did she always _have_ to insult him. He was a respectable guy with impressive features–which Iko often pointed out, along with 'being such a jerk.' But lately, CInder had seen a difference in their teasing. Every time they would argue, it had more of a playful tone and one time, Cinder had to look twice because she almost caught a _loving_ look in Kinney's eye. But it was nothing compared to what she had seen happen later that day when Kinney actually _kissed Iko on the hand._ She had stood there, gobsmacked, for a good minute. and as soon as it was over, rushed to Kai's rooms to tell him everything. They were both getting tired of Kinney and Iko's fighting, so this had come as a slight relief to them bo–

"CIINnnNNNnnNDDdddDDDdddDEeeeeEEeeERRrrrrrRR!"

She whipped her head in the direction of the sound and saw Thorne barreling down the shiny halls, his portscreen held high above his head as he shouted to her. His button down shirt looked extraordinarily creased from activity.

"You HAVE to come with me!" he called. As soon as he got to where she was standing, he doubled over–completely out of breath. Why Thorne, why?

In between breaths, he waved the port around. "Say...hi to...the...camera."

Cinder indulged him and waved awkwardly, almost instantly putting her hand down as she realized the stupidity of what she was doing. "What do you need to show me?"

Thorne stood up straight, still extraordinarily winded. "It's too much to explain. But trust me, it'll be worth it."

* * *

"Sorry!" Thorne heard Cinder call out as he barely missed a young servant carrying a large tray. He rolled his eyes at her.

"You know, you don't have to apologize to every person we pass." he remarked, speeding up his run.

Cinder gave him an almost glare, simultaneously trying to keep her balance. "Yes, I do. If the Families hear about this–"

"Since when have you cared what the 'Families' think? They hardly have a say in anything except how well their headpieces match their shoes. Besides, you are Queen." he interrupted.

Cinder nodded. "Okay, fine, but could you at least tell me _where_ it is we're going?"

"Winter's room." Thorne responded resolutely, facing the portscreen so as they were both seen running.

She looked over at him, cringing. "You nose is still purple."

"Yeah." He touched it and instantly withheld a shout of pain. "It keeps getting darker."

"You need to get that looked at."

They both took a sharp left turn unto the smaller hallway that led to Winter's rooms.

"Don't you start, Ms. 'I-got-stabbed-in-the-heart-but-I-can-still-rule-a-planet.' My injuries are _my_ injuries." Thorne shot back.

"Fine, have fun with your pain." Cinder huffed. Thorne noticed her slowing down and mildly regretted mentioning her recent surgery.

They came up to Winter's door and stopped for a breather. Thorne leaned on a table, almost causing a delicate vase to tumble from its perch.

"Just...wait...till…" Thorne took deep breaths to satisfy his bursting lungs.

"Yeah, yeah...I won't...believe it." Cinder waved her hand toward the door tiredly, giving up halfway through the gesture.

After catching his breath, Thorne steadied his portscreen and flashed a knowing smile to Cinder, his hand in the handle of Winter's door. He quickly pushed it open and they rushed in.

A laugh bubbled out of Cinder as she took in the sight.

On the end of the room, in the middle of Winter's grandiose bed, Jacin was perched, all but his head wrapped in a blanket, with a look of complete indignation. And situated around him were Iko, Winter, and Kinney. All together, they were doing the unimaginable. Braiding. Jacin's. Hair.

His head was covered in numerous, intricate twists; french braids, fishtails, and dutch to name a few. Flowers, hairpins, and scrunchies were intertwined in the mix. It was clear the group was collaborating to create one elaborate arrangement and the scene they created, with complete concentration, focused on the winding and braiding of Jacin's hair was almost inconceivable.

The three, excluding Jacin, didn't even look up from their work and after a few minutes, it got uninteresting simply watching them work. Cinder chose to walk over to them and inspect what they had done so far. Being in close distance have her the best opportunity to make fun of Jacin.

Thorne put one hand in his pocket, holding the port with the other and glanced around the room, until he heard a knock at the door. He easily volunteered to open it and soon saw Cress in her chair with yet another portscreen.

"Did my lady miss me?" he asked flamboyantly, opening the door and bowing.

She smirked before entering. "Don't get too cocky."

"Way too late for that." he teased, planting a peck on her cheek.

This time, the four looked up. Winter and Iko smiled, the latter giving off an almost pulsing glow. Kinney cleared his throat and Jacin…

"This is a PDA-free zone." he declared, rolling his eyes.

Thorne raised an eyebrow, a thought lit up in his mind. He grabbed the arms of Cress' chair and flashed her a mischievous smile before leaning in and giving her a searing kiss. She squeaked but to Thorne's relief, recovered from the beginning shock and placed her arms on his shoulders, pulling him closer. He almost smiled but was too lost in Cress to be bothered. The entire room evaporated.

After they broke away, Thorne could see everyone was staring at the two in their bliss. He felt his nose again, glad it hadn't even brushed against her face. The pain would have been too much. He grinned proudly and she blushed, still sitting straight in her chair.

"Why do I even bother with you people?" Kinney muttered, returning to the braid he was in the middle of perfecting.

Jacin looked as if he were about to gag, but he chose, very wisely, to keep his mouth shut.

Cress, although still flustered, came forward next to the bed. "Are you guys finished yet?" She aimed this toward Iko who was holding a handful of hairpins.

"No!" all the three hair stylists exclaimed. Cress sighed and moved backward.

"Don't worry, it's practically done." Iko said, almost apologetically.

"It'll be glorious." Kinney whispered. Thorne held up the portscreen toward them. The entire room went silent at his declaration.

Kinney took notice of the instant quiet, sitting up straighter. "What? Everyone has their hobbies…"

Iko snorted, pushing her hair back with one hand. "More like obsessions." She was in a red pantsuit, one of the most casual things she had worn all week.

"Like you're any better." he shot back with an edge to his voice, almost as if he cared what someone thought about him. "I don't know what it is with androids and hair."

"Because I'm sure you've met _so_ many androids." Iko spat.

"One is enough for me. Especially if they're all like you." he said smoothly.

Thorne squinted at him and set his jaw forward. He was about to shame the guard until he never remotely thought about looking in Iko's direction, but Cinder beat him to it.

"You mean kind, clever, and understanding? Perfect qualities that you clearly don't have. I'm tired of seeing you two bickering. So, as your _Queen_ , I command you to apologize." she told him, placing an authoritative look on her face.

Thorne bit back his laugh. He felt like clapping for Cinder.

Kinney looked like he was going to say something, but he screwed up his face and swallowed. Thorne guessed it was his pride going down his throat.

"My apologies, Your Majesty. And," He turned to Iko, cringing. "I'm sorry for insulting you, Madame Counselor."

Iko beamed at Cinder and seemed to glower at Kinney. "You're forgiven."

"Jacin, your hair is perfect for this style. Why have I never tried this before?" Winter interrupted, as if she had heard nothing of the conversation.

He simply grunted in return.

Thorne moved the camera to Cress, who was hovering right behind Iko. "So, how did you hear about the ultimate braid-off?"

"Iko sent me a comm. I'm here to take pictures." she said.

"That could be interesting." he replied.

"Yeah, if they ever finish." she glanced over at them.

"Just one more…" Iko blurted. She bent over as her fingers worked quickly. "Done!"

Thorne rushed over, holding the port. "Let the press through!" he exclaimed.

Iko, Winter, and Kinney jumped off the bed and stood behind Thorne and Cress, the photographers, to admire their handiwork.

"You were right." Iko told Kinney, bumping him on the arm. "It is glorious."

He looked at her and gave a small smile.

Facing Jacin was Cinder. She had a smirk written on that face, the smugness radiating of her gestures.

"I've got to say, it's a good look for you." she mused.

"Don't." Jacin growled, crossing his arms and hunching over.

"I'm serious, prom-queen. Now you're ready to go to a ball." she said, enjoying every second of his annoyance.

"You have to send those to Scarlet." Thorne said. Everyone, minus Jacin and Cinder, was crowding around Cress's portscreen.

"I'm sending these to everyone we know." Cress stated.

"Sel-Cinder, Jacin. Come over and see!" Winter called.

"Fat chance." Jacin grumbled, frowning even harder.

Cinder glanced at him before going over toward the group. Cress handed the port to her.

Cinder laughed, scrolling through each one.

"Jacin, would be a wonderful model." Thorne said to his recording port. "In fact, this may be the start of his illustrious career. Jacin!"

He turned toward Thorne grudgingly.

"Would you like to tell the camera about your new career in modeling?" Thorne teased.

Jacin appeared to bite down another glaring expression and demeaning words, replacing them with a placid look. Never blinking.

"Jacin? Jacin, you're creeping me out." Thorne said.

Jacin remained nonchalant.

"Fine, two can play at that game." Thorne uttered. He walked over to Jacin's sitting place, staring him in the eye. He sat down right in front of him.

"Thorne, what are you doing?" Cinder groaned.

"Shhhh, I'm _trying_ to win a staring contest." Thorne whispered, lifting the camera to record both him and Jacin.

Cinder pressed her human fingers at the bridge of her nose, muttering.

Thorne's eyes began to water but he tried to push through, ignoring the constant pull to blink. "Don't blink."

His self advice nearly worked. Nearly.

"Ahh!" He blinked rapidly, water gathering in his eyes. "I call for a rematch!"

"Here we go…" Cinder said unenthusiastically.

"Cress, have you sent the pictures to everyone in this room, including Scarlet and Kai?" Thorne asked, his eyes focused on Jacin's.

"Yep!" she chirped.

"I want it on a giant poster." Iko said dreamily.

"SHHHHH!" Thorne hissed. "That's all for today's episode of 'Wandering.' Tune in next time to see me beat Jacin at his own game. Ahhhh!" He blinked.


End file.
